Five sentenced to death for Saudi diplomat murder

Relatives and friends of Saudi diplomat Khalaf Ali, the second secretary at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Bangladesh, carry his body during his funeral in Riyadh, on March 9, 2012.

A Bangladeshi court sentenced five gang members to death on Sunday for the murder of Khalaf Ali, 45, a second secretary at his country's embassy, according to Agence France-Presse.

"The Speedy Trial Tribunal in Dhaka sentenced five people to death today. Four of the convicts were present when the judge gave the verdict," said Anisur Rahman, deputy commissioner of police, who added the fifth accused was sentenced in absentia.

The men were tried in a special tribunal in Dhaka normally reserved to judge crimes related to Islamic militancy, according to AFP.

Ali was shot March this year walking near his home after five men police say tried to rob him, according to Reuters. He died of his wounds three hours later in a nearby hospital.

In October last year Saudi Arabia beheaded eight Bangladeshi workers convicted of killing an Egyptian.